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*I will do my best to write this without any specific spoilers, but a certain amount of general information is unavoidable. UPDATE: comments contain considerable spoilers*

Controversy seems to nip at Mass Effect 3's heels for every step it takes out of release. First there was the uproar over the possibility of gay romance, then there was the uproar over the addition of day-one DLC (downloadable content), and now, a great many fans are upset about the ending. So much so that they're taking out an online petition against Bioware demanding that they change it.

The Mass Effect series has always been about difficult choices. The ending is no exception. The only problem is, the choices don't seem to matter much in the end, and whatever choice the player makes, things don’t end up all that well for our intrepid Commander Shepherd.

Some fans who had played through dozens of hours over the course of five years saw it as a kick in the teeth.

From the Facebook petition’s comment wall: “To paraphrase the Asari Counselor in the game 'to say the ending is somewhat disappointing is a monumental understatement' - I have only just shaken off feeling sick to my stomach over it.”

Would Bioware ever consider actually change the ending? It'd be an expensive and unprecedented move. At Kotaku, Jason Schreier muses that if companies can patch a game's code after release, it isn't much of a leap to think that they could patch a game's story. The petitions continually make mention of the fact that if Bioware is a business, it should respond to its consumers. If the company can be assured of so many downloads on a new piece of DLC, it only makes sense to develop it.

Of course, if would definitely have to release a new ending as DLC, fans would definitely have to pay for it. As we've seen throughout the development cycle, Mass Effect fans are a fickle lot: like sports fans who love their franchise but hate everyone actually involved with it. Mass Effect has ended up a little bit like Star Wars: fans have turned their ravenous obsession with the game world against its makers, feeling betrayed and hurt for their trust in Bioware.